Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry logoLink to Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry
. 1989 Aug;52(8):970–974. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.52.8.970

Corticospinal potentials after transcranial stimulation in humans.

M Inghilleri 1, A Berardelli 1, G Cruccu 1, A Priori 1, M Manfredi 1
PMCID: PMC1031836  PMID: 2552023

Abstract

The descending volley evoked in humans by transcranial electrical stimulation of the scalp was recorded with epidural and spinal electrodes. It consisted of an early wave, which increased in amplitude and decreased in latency when the strength of the stimulus was increased. The mean conduction velocity of the early wave was 66, SD 2.5 m/s. At high stimulus intensity this wave was followed by later and smaller waves, which travel at the same speed as the initial potential. The recovery cycle of the descending volley was studied by delivering paired cortical stimuli at time intervals ranging from 0.5 to 10 ms. The early wave evoked by the test stimulus recovered to about 50% at a 1 ms interval and to 100% at a 3.5 ms interval. The later waves could not be tested at short time intervals but with time intervals longer than 3.5 ms they recovered to 100%. It is suggested that the initial and later waves after scalp stimulation are equivalent to the D and I waves seen in animal experiments.

Full text

PDF
970

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Amassian V. E., Stewart M., Quirk G. J., Rosenthal J. L. Physiological basis of motor effects of a transient stimulus to cerebral cortex. Neurosurgery. 1987 Jan;20(1):74–93. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Boyd S. G., Rothwell J. C., Cowan J. M., Webb P. J., Morley T., Asselman P., Marsden C. D. A method of monitoring function in corticospinal pathways during scoliosis surgery with a note on motor conduction velocities. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1986 Mar;49(3):251–257. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.49.3.251. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Day B. L., Rothwell J. C., Thompson P. D., Dick J. P., Cowan J. M., Berardelli A., Marsden C. D. Motor cortex stimulation in intact man. 2. Multiple descending volleys. Brain. 1987 Oct;110(Pt 5):1191–1209. doi: 10.1093/brain/110.5.1191. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Katayama Y., Tsubokawa T., Maejima S., Hirayama T., Yamamoto T. Corticospinal direct response in humans: identification of the motor cortex during intracranial surgery under general anaesthesia. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1988 Jan;51(1):50–59. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.51.1.50. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Kernell D., Chien-Ping W. U. Responses of the pyramidal tract to stimulation of the baboon's motor cortex. J Physiol. 1967 Aug;191(3):653–672. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1967.sp008273. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Levy W. J., Jr, York D. H. Evoked potentials from the motor tracts in humans. Neurosurgery. 1983 Apr;12(4):422–429. doi: 10.1227/00006123-198304000-00009. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Merton P. A., Hill D. K., Morton H. B., Marsden C. D. Scope of a technique for electrical stimulation of human brain, spinal cord, and muscle. Lancet. 1982 Sep 11;2(8298):597–600. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(82)90670-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Merton P. A., Morton H. B. Stimulation of the cerebral cortex in the intact human subject. Nature. 1980 May 22;285(5762):227–227. doi: 10.1038/285227a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. NATHAN P. W., SMITH M. C. Long descending tracts in man. I. Review of present knowledge. Brain. 1955;78(2):248–303. doi: 10.1093/brain/78.2.248. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Nathan P. W., Smith M. C. The rubrospinal and central tegmental tracts in man. Brain. 1982 Jun;105(Pt 2):223–269. doi: 10.1093/brain/105.2.223. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. PATTON H. D., AMASSIAN V. E. Single and multiple-unit analysis of cortical stage of pyramidal tract activation. J Neurophysiol. 1954 Jul;17(4):345–363. doi: 10.1152/jn.1954.17.4.345. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Rothwell J. C., Thompson P. D., Day B. L., Dick J. P., Kachi T., Cowan J. M., Marsden C. D. Motor cortex stimulation in intact man. 1. General characteristics of EMG responses in different muscles. Brain. 1987 Oct;110(Pt 5):1173–1190. doi: 10.1093/brain/110.5.1173. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Snooks S. J., Swash M. Motor conduction velocity in the human spinal cord: slowed conduction in multiple sclerosis and radiation myelopathy. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1985 Nov;48(11):1135–1139. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.48.11.1135. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES